Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
Mt 4: 1-11
The only words of Jesus which Matthew has so far recorded is found in 3:15 (Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.). It means that Jesus must fulfill scriptures.
In this section Jesus speaks three times and each time he uses the phrase “it is written”, that is, it is written in the scriptures (Old Testament). Jesus responds to the testing of the devil by citing scriptures which he must fulfill.
The devil begins his first two sayings with the words “If you are the Son of God…” This harks back to the voice from Heaven at the Baptism of Jesus: “This is my beloved Son” (3:17).
The three responses of Jesus all come Deuteronomy. They refer to the testing of Israel in wilderness after their crossing of the Red Sea. Matthew may have had this event in mind when he wrote about the temptation of Jesus in the desert. He might have also had in mind the crossing of the Red Sea when he wrote about the Baptism of Jesus.
The words “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights…” is similar to the words of Moses in Deuteronomy. “Remember how for forty years now the LORD, your God, has directed all your journeying in the desert, so as to test you by affliction and find out whether or not it was your intention to keep his commandments” (Dt 8:2). Now the words “tempt” and “test” are the same in Greek. Matthew might want to tell us that Jesus is re-living the experience of Israel in his own life and that where Israel failed, Jesus is victorious.
This assertion is further strengthened by later events. For example, the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus proclaimed the Beatitudes is an allusion to Moses receiving the Ten Commandments from God on Mt. Sinai.
v. 1. Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
The desert or wilderness was believed to be the home of evil spirits. Jesus is, therefore, taken directly to the headquarters of evil.
v. 2. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry.
The fasting of Jesus and his hunger paves the way for the first temptation, the satisfaction of his hunger.
v. 3. The tempter approached and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, com-mand that these stones become loaves of bread."
At his Baptism, the voice from Heaven identifies Jesus as his Son.
If God can raise from stones children to Abraham (Mt. 3:9), then he can surely change those stones into bread.
v. 4. He said in reply, "It is written: 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.'"
The reply of Jesus comes from Dt 8:3. The complete verse is as follows: “He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your fathers, in order to show you that not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD.”
The story of the Manna in the desert is found in Ex 16:1ff. The temptation of Israel was to doubt the power of God to provide for his people. The response of Jesus to this temptation was affirming his faith in the care of God for his creatures (Mt 6:25).
vv. 5-6. Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: 'He will command his angels concerning you and 'with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"
The holy city is Jerusalem.
The second temptation comes from the response of Jesus to the first temptation. If God cares for his people, then they will come to no harm. Therefore, let Jesus throw himself down from the pinnacle of the temple and thus prove the truth of the promise made in Ps 9:11-12 (For God commands the angels to guard you….) .
The use of the title Son of God in order to tempt Jesus is also found at the Crucifixion (Mt 27: 40. 43).
v. 7. Jesus answered him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.'"
The second reply of Jesus comes from Dt 6:16, “You shall not put the LORD, your God, to the test, as you did at Massah.” Massah means proof or testing. The incident is related in Ex 17:1-7 (The place was called Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled there and tested the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD in our midst or not?").
Jesus refuses to test his Father by calling for angelic assistance. Cf. Mt 26:53.
vv. 8-9. Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me."
Cf. Jn 12:31; 16:11; 2 Co 4:4; 1 Jn 5:19 about the devil as ruler of this world.
v. 10. At this, Jesus said to him, "Get away, Satan! It is written: 'The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.'"
The third reply of Jesus comes from Dt 6:13. But read the whole passage (Dt 6:13-15).
Jesus does not commit the sin of worshipping other gods. He, therefore, receives from the Father what the devil promises and more (Mt 28:18).
“Get away, Satan!” We find something similar in Mt 16:23. There Peter tempts Jesus to avoid the crucifixion. In both passages, Jesus is being tempted to take a path different from the one pointed out by the Father. He refuses and is rewarded (Phil 2:5-11).
v. 11. Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.
Jesus is victorious ove the devil and is, therefore, exalted above the angels (Heb 1:6).
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